I represent the first generation who, when we were born, the television was now a permanent fixture in our homes. When I was born people had breakfast with Barbara Walters, dinner with Walter Cronkite, and slept with Johnny Carson.
Read the full "Pre-ramble"

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Virginian, Plus Early Female TV Characters: Next on TVC

Authors Paul Green and Cary O’Dell will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Oct. 16-22 at the following times and venues:

Indiana TalksMarion, INWednesday 10/1611pm ET, 8pm PTwith replays at various times throughout the weekClick on the player at IndianaTalks.comor use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in Indiana Talks

Passionate World RadioAnn Arbor, MITuesday 10/229:30pm ET, 6:30pm PTwith replays at various times throughout the week at PWRTalkonDemand.comClick on the Listen Now button at PWRTalk.com

Paul Green will join us in our second hour as we remember The Virginian, the long-running Western series starring James Drury, Doug McClure and Lee J. Cobb, and a show that still has a very strong following today, particularly among female viewers.

The third-longest running Western on television (nine seasons, second only toGunsmoke and Bonanza), The Virginian was also the first 90-minute Western series produced for network television. Paul’s book A History of Television’s The Virginian: 1962-1971 not only features interviews with many of the actors and behind-the-scenes personnel of The Virginian, but shows how the series helped paved the way for the made-for-TV movie, while also playing an important role in the career of Roy Huggins.

Cary O’Dell will join us in our first hour as we look at how women were portrayed on television during the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. It is generally assumed by many scholars and historians that female characters during the early years of television were subservient women who were rarely seen as anything other than housewives or moms. If you actually watched the majority of shows from that era, however, you would not only find that assumption to be wrong, but realize that most women on television back then were as every bit as empowered and capable as the women we see today.

CHILD OF TELEVISION @ iTunes

Pre-ramble

I represent the first generation whom, when we were born, the television was now a permanent fixture in our homes. When I was born people had breakfast with Barbara Walters, dinner with Walter Cronkite, and slept with Johnny Carson.
Read the full "Pre-ramble"